Hello all,

I decided to head down to E. Arlington once I knew that the hummer was
indeed a Rufous. I called Sharon Derosia and left her a message. She
returned my call very quickly, telling me her address and that it was OK to
go and see it. On the way down I stopped in Danby to pick up Nancy Brown.
We arrived at Sharon's house at 3:42 P.M. Sharon came out and greeted us
(very nice lady) and asked if we would sign our names in her book. We
obliged and then she showed us into her back yard. She told us that the
Rufous Hummingbird had been active all day, then Nancy and I found that it
still was very active. We heard it immediately upon entering the back yard.
We had our first look at it after a few minutes. It was flying all around,
each time making a two syllable call. We were able to get great looks at it
several times. What a treat!!!! Many thanks to (first and foremost)- Sharon
Derosia for calling Randy Schmidt, letting the bird get banded and ID'd,
and for letting us birders come and take a look at it. Randy Schmidt for
looking into the possibility that this bird might be a Rufous and Bob
Yunick for banding & ID-ing the bird.
When Nancy and I were done observing the bird, we said goodbye to Sharon
and just before we left, a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew into the back yard,
grabbed a Black-capped Chickadee, flew onto a tree branch with it and began
feeding on it. I have seen these attacks several times now, but it always
amazes me how swiftly they occur.

My complete list:

Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  5
Rufous Hummingbird  1
Black-capped Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  1
Dark-eyed Junco  1

Enjoy Birds,

Jim Mead

On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 12:22 PM, Randolph Schmidt <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello all:
>
> We did indeed band and positively ID the East Arlington hummer this
> morning.  The bird is a hatch year female Rufous Hummingbird who weighed
> 3.9 grams.  Band number L66890. (the L will be translated to a numerical
> number later - the L fits easily on the band!)
>
> Bander Bob Yunick captured the bird at the first feeder visit after the
> trap was set. VERY interesting process.  The tail feathers made the ID (
> along with other details)  and it was amazing to see the amount of rufus in
> the bird that you don't see when the bird is just perching. He will be
> producing a complete report.
>
> In any event I will have pictures and some video posted a bit later today.
>  It was very neat to see the bird return to the feeder just 7 1/2 minutes
> after release.
>
> As for visits… the homeowner could not be any nicer and is just thrilled
> the bird has come to their backyard. She is amenable to visits, however
> asks that calls are made ahead of time. Her name is Sharon Derosia - and
> the number is 802-375-6994… she will give address and directions.
>
> So as some have mentioned - the lesson is… next year, keep those hummer
> feeders going!  In fact this morning, the bird visited the feeder even
> though a small bit of ice had formed after the homeowner put it back out
> this morning. Temp was around 26 degrees at the time of capture.
>
> Great experience all around.
>
> Randy Schmidt
> The Vermont Bird Place & Sky Watch
> Manchester Center, VT